Combat Press MMA Rankings: April 10, 2017

As MMA continues to grow its presence with the UFC, Bellator MMA, WSOF and ONE Championship, fighters are constantly jockeying for position in the eyes (and rankings) of the media.

Every week, Combat Press will rank each weight class from heavyweight to flyweight, as well as the pound-for-pound rankings (including all genders).

Note: the numbers in parentheses represent the fighter’s ranking from last week.

Heavyweight

Stipe Miocic (1)

Fabricio Werdum (2)

Cain Velasquez (3)

Alistair Overeem (4)

Junior dos Santos (5)

Ben Rothwell (6)

Josh Barnett (7)

Mark Hunt (8)

Derrick Lewis (9)

Francis Ngannou (10)

No fighters in the top 10 were in action this week, so the rankings remain unchanged.

Light Heavyweight

Jon Jones (1)

Daniel Cormier (2)

Anthony “Rumble” Johnson (3)

Alexander Gustafsson (4)

Jimi Manuwa (5)

Phil Davis (6)

Glover Teixeira (7)

Ryan Bader (8)

Liam McGeary (9)

Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (10)

Daniel Cormier is still the UFC light heavyweight champion after dispatching of Anthony “Rumble” Johnson for a second time at UFC 210. The title tilt shared many similarities with the pair’s first meeting, as Johnson did damage to Cormier early with his striking, but Cormier’s wrestling and submission game were the difference. Cormier remains at No. 2 with the victory. Johnson stays at No. 3, but his sudden retirement announcement following the fight means the 205-pound division lost one of its most explosive fighters.

Middleweight

Michael Bisping (1)

Yoel Romero (2)

Luke Rockhold (3)

Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (4)

Gegard Mousasi (7)

Chris Weidman (5)

Robert Whittaker (8)

Anderson Silva (9)

Kelvin Gastelum (10)

Mamed Khalidov (-)

Dropped from the rankings: Lyoto Machida (6)

UFC 210 had an impact on the middleweight rankings, but it also had plenty of controversy. Former titleholder Chris Weidman battled Gegard Mousasi, and the fight was interrupted for what referee Dan Miragliotta believed were illegal knees. Once it was determined the strikes were legal, the bout was waved off and Mousasi was handed a TKO victory. As a result, Mousasi moves to No. 5 in our rankings, while Weidman slides to sixth. Another former champion, Lyoto Machida, has been removed from the top 10 due to inactivity, opening the door for Polish standout Mamed Khalidov.

Welterweight

Tyron Woodley (1)

Stephen Thompson (2)

Robbie Lawler (3)

Demian Maia (4)

Carlos Condit (5)

Ben Askren (6)

Rory MacDonald (7)

Jorge Masvidal (8)

Gunnar Nelson (9)

Donald Cerrone (10)

No fighters in the top 10 were in action this week, so the rankings remain unchanged.

Lightweight

Conor McGregor (1)

Khabib Nurmagomedov (2)

Tony Ferguson (3)

Eddie Alvarez (4)

Rafael dos Anjos (5)

Edson Barboza (6)

Nate Diaz (7)

Justin Gaethje (8)

Michael Chandler (10)

Michael Johnson (-)

Dropped from the rankings: Will Brooks (9)

The UFC has been a tough go for former Bellator champion Will Brooks. He was dismantled by Brazilian Charles Oliveira at UFC 210, falling via first-round rear-naked choke. Brooks falls out of the top 10 with his second straight loss, allowing Michael Johnson to re-enter the rankings.

Featherweight

José Aldo (1)

Max Holloway (3)

Frankie Edgar (2)

Chad Mendes (4)

Ricardo Lamas (5)

Cub Swanson (6)

Anthony Pettis (7)

Charles Oliveira (8)

Chan Sung Jung (9)

Daniel Straus (10)

Eighth-ranked Charles Oliveira was in action at UFC 210, but it was at lightweight. The Brazilian has not ruled out a return to 145 pounds, so for the time being, he remains in the top 10.

Bantamweight

Cody Garbrandt (1)

Dominick Cruz (2)

T.J. Dillashaw (3)

Marlon Moraes (4)

Bibiano Fernandes (5)

John Lineker (6)

Jimmie Rivera (7)

Urijah Faber (8)

Raphael Assuncao (9)

Eduardo Dantas (10)

No fighters in the top 10 were in action this week, so the rankings remain unchanged.

Flyweight

Demetrious Johnson (1)

Joseph Benavidez (2)

Henry Cejudo (3)

Kyoji Horiguchi (4)

Wilson Reis (5)

Ray Borg (6)

Jussier “Formiga” da Silva (7)

Tim Elliott (8)

Dustin Ortiz (9)

Zach Makovsky (10)

No fighters in the top 10 were in action this week, so the rankings remain unchanged.

Pound-For-Pound

Demetrious Johnson (1)

Jon Jones (2)

Daniel Cormier (3)

Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino (4)

Conor McGregor (5)

Joanna Jędrzejczyk (6)

Stipe Miocic (7)

José Aldo (8)

Amanda Nunes (9)

Cody Garbrandt (-)

Dropped from the rankings: Anthony “Rumble” Johnson (10)

Cormier’s title defense keeps him firmly planted at No. 3 in the pound-for-pound rankings, while Johnson’s loss causes him to tumble out of the top 10. UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt moves into the top 10 for the first time as a result.

Editor’s Note: Fighters are eligible to be ranked if they have competed in the last 18 months. Any fighter that chooses to switch weight classes will be ranked in their previous weight class until they have competed in their new division.

About The Author

Rob Tatum has been covering combat sports since 2009. His work has appeared on InvictaFC.com, The MMA Corner, Bleacher Report MMA, MMA DieHards and MMAinterviews. Prior to covering combat sports, Rob ran his own music website from 2002-2009. Beyond his writing, Rob has trained in both Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Muay Thai. He is a Colorado native that works as a mechanical engineer during the day. In his free time, Rob enjoys watching sports, playing music and working on cars.